The old woman broke out in sweats as she remembered the scene of lady Kim standing next to the corpse. Within a split second her eyes were filled with madness. Her hand moved hastily while she was turning back to confront the person behind her. Cracking sounds of broken bone could be heard when her steellike fingers drilled into the person’s chest.

“Stupid old hag. Really?”

The person grabbed the old woman’s arm and stared with widened eyes at something behind her. The reflection of an incoming sword blade in the person’s eyes scared the old woman witless. She wanted to dodge to the side but her hand was stuck in that person’s chest.

“Die with me then, you dumb shit!”

That person cried out frantically before both of them being chopped in half by the sword blade. Blood spurted out from the old woman’s corpse as it felt on the muddy ground. On the other side of the fight scene, lady Kim was swiftly dodging the combined attack of other attackers. The old man looked shortly at the incoming monkeys and jumped to the side, dodging the bearded man’s heavy palm strike. A big pit was smashed in the ground where he stood.

Due to the old man’s sneak attack at the beginning, the bearded man only had his right leg left. He cursed himself for being careless. With only one leg available his accuracy was a mess. Looking at the troupe of savage golden-ears monkeys dashing over them, he narrowed his eyes pensively. Those monkeys seemed to be in a trance. Everything hindering their path will be crushed ruthlessly. The bearded man had a crazy idea and his eyes turned blood red. He threw his sturdy body at the old man again and again. Unfortunately, he only seemed like a mad meatball ramming big pits in the earth.

The old man easily evaded those clumsy attacks and grabbed the bearded man’s ankle. With a big swing, he hurled the bearded man against the other attackers, shooting them into the troupe of brutish monkeys. Desperate screams rung out in the air but were quickly drowned by the steady sound of bouncing raindrops on the now flooded ground. A small stream had already been formed and gradually washed away the evidence of the fight. The monkeys had left the scene. They never intended to take part in the clash between those humans. The old man knew that the monkeys would always take this route at certain times of the month, so he had lured the pursuers to this place to create a few seconds of surprise. Few seconds was all he needed.

Next to the old man, lady Kim was crouching on one knee, still trying to catch a breath. Heavy raindrops were falling mercilessly on her back and her soaking wet robe stuck closely onto her skin. Surprisingly no visible injuries were seen on her body. She had a slim feminine waistline yet her defined shoulder muscles indicated an athletic physique. Suddenly she got goosebumps all over her body as she no longer felt the pressure of falling raindrops but instead only gentle fingertips stroking slowly on the sensitive skin of her back. Lady Kim took a deep breath before raising her face to meet the old man’s meaningful eyes.

Not far away from them, someone’s fat belly was sticking out from under the murky water. The old man waded across the flooded ground towards it.

“I will dislocate your shoulders.”

With the pointy tip of his sword touching the belly skin, the old man spoke indifferently.

“Why? … WOOOHHH!”

A dirt-covered head abruptly rose from under the water and the bearded man surprised voice rung out before turning into a painful howl. He couldn’t move a single muscle in his arms after the old man was done with him. His wrists were now bound together tightly behind his back with a ripped cloth.

“Hey wait, wait! A hero can die an honourable death but never lives a disgraceful life. You can kill me but don’t you dare to torture me.”

The bearded man shouted frantically as his nape was grabbed by the old man and his dirty body was dragged over the muddy ground. The old man raised the bearded man’s head before slapping him soundly on the cheek.

“We will leave this forgotten land together and you will be our meat shield.”

They stared in each other eyes as the old man calmly spoke. The bearded man scanned the old man’s face suspiciously with his narrowed eyes. He couldn’t believe the old man would let him leave this place with them. However, they wanting to use him as a meat shield did sound convincing. The old man threw this called meat shield over to lady Kim and led the way.

“Woa lady Kim. I see you’re a really smart woman after all. It was a good choice for you to follow brother cripple. He even acknowledges my extraordinary strength. Don’t worry, with me here it will be a child’s play to leave this land. I will protect you with all my might. It’s a hero’s duty to take care of the beauty. … Ack?”

The bearded man widened eyes were fixated on lady Kim’s soft hip movement as he was dragged behind her. Seeing his lecherous expression, lady Kim glared angrily at him. She stuffed the bearded man full with a lump of dirty cloth and tied up his eyes.

The forest was absolutely silent. Only the chilling humid air in the lungs after every breath reminded of the heavy rain not long ago. Over the high tree branches, two swift silhouettes were dashing under the clear night sky. The enormous translucent barrier soon appeared before them. With an elegant movement, the old man landed in front of a small cave entrance. It was at a discreet area between several sand dunes. Reli looked curiously over the old man’s shoulders and recognised this place. It was one of the few caves the old man told him to remember by heart. Quickly their shadows vanished inside the cave entrance.

Hurried steps resounded in the darkness. Since she couldn’t see anything and the old man was moving so fast, lady Kim had a hard time trying to follow him. The bearded man she dragged behind her even banged into the solid cave wall a few times. Finally, they reached the end of the cave. The cave actually went on much longer but there was a blue glowing barrier cutting right through the tunnel, hindering them from going any further. The whole cave section was illuminated in bright blue light and gave it a mysterious appearance.

Sensing the old man’s gaze, lady Kim nodded. She threw the bearded man on the ground and set him free. The bearded man looked curiously at his surroundings and his eyes widened when he saw the barrier.

“Yes, that’s right. It’s the very barrier protecting this forgotten land. Only this part is far under the ground and none knows about it. We can wait here till the barrier disappears in a few days and leave this land through the tunnel.”

The old man’s calm voice rung out behind the bearded man. They couldn’t see how every muscle on the bearded man’s face twitched intensely and a manic smile appeared.

“Since we will spend a long time in here, we need to prepare enough food for our escape. Lady Kim, please go back to the surface and hunt some beasts. Also gather various fruits, just enough for us to last a few days.”

Seemingly not paying attention to the bearded man, the old man spoke carefree to lady Kim. The woman nodded and disappeared in the darkness of the tunnel. She had remembered the way and could find the right direction even with her closed. However, just a few moments later, a slight vibration spread through the tunnel section where they were waiting and lady Kim’s faint desperate scream could be heard.

“What happened? I will go to take a look. You stay here and don’t do anything stupid.”

The old man jumped on his feet and dashed in the direction of the scream.

“Alright, I won’t do anything stupid.”

Still facing the blue barrier, the bearded man answered in an honest voice. None could see how his eyes formed an excessive crescent moon shape with his small pupils still visible. His wide smile became even more distorted when he heard the sound of the old man running further away.

“I will do something very smart.”

The bearded man suddenly turned his head and slammed his sturdy body into the cave wall. Even though his attacks seemed wild, they all followed a certain pattern. Huge cracks spread along the wall while the whole tunnel began to shake dangerously. The old man halted his steps and looked back with a shocked expression.

The bearded man’s shoulders weren’t dislocated anymore and he stood strong in front of the barrier with his arm muscles tightened. His chest heaved as he breathed heavily. The maniacal expression was still on his face and his hysterical laugh seemed to shook the cave even more.

Huge stones broke off from the cave ceiling. More of them kept falling down on the ground and gradually blocked the path between the two men. The whole tunnel seemed to be on the verge of collapse. Realizing the rapidly expanding cracks towards his direction, the old man quickly moved and look for his way back to the cave entrance.

“Hahah, be careful on your way back, old cripple. Too bad that little boy is still in your hand, but you have given me an even better gift. I will pray for you after I leave this place unscathed.”

The bearded man shouted playfully after seeing the old man’s silhouette vanished in the darkness. One last rock felt down and the tunnel was completely sealed in front of the barrier. Before they had reached the cave entrance the bearded man had already managed to relocate his shoulders. That stupid lady Kim was so reckless with her movement and slammed him against almost every corner of the cave. However, it gave him the chance to secretly manipulate the cave wall, letting it become more likely to crumble.

When he saw the blue barrier, he almost burst into laughter. None would have expected a brute like himself actually had certain knowledge about barriers. He knew the actual barrier is translucent. For that one to be blue meant that this part had lost almost every connection to the main barrier and was much weaker. Furthermore, he could detect tiny white lines across its whole surface. This part of the barrier didn’t have much energy left to sustain its form. Hearing the old cripple wanting them to just wait for the barrier to disappear by itself, he knew the old man had no idea about the secret of this blue barrier. He only needed a few days to drain its energy and totally destroy it, even before the main barrier disappeared. It was heaven’s will when the old man told lady Kim to leave. She then got hurt by his trap, leading to the old man running after her too. It was the perfect time for him to break down the whole cave and lock them out of this place. He was aware they would dig their way back here, but that required a few days. He would have long since destroyed the barrier and fled this place. His plan was perfect and his luck seemed unimaginable.

Countless clouds of dust were blasted in the air while thunderous rumble shook the whole area. A faint silhouette shot out from the collapsing cave entrance at the very last moment.

“How are you, Reli?”

After a few short coughs, the old man asked in a hoarse voice. They are standing on a thick branch of a huge tree, far away from the collapsed area.

Reli’s small head stuck out from under the animal hide on the old man’s belly and scanned alertly their surroundings. The old man had switched Reli’s position from his back to the front, for fear that some random rocks from the ceiling might hit his little boy.

“I’m super fine, grandpa. Are you hurt somewhere? You’re so awesome. I couldn’t even see a thing in that cave but you manage to bring us out with ease. Your face looks so funny now though.”

His cheerful voice rung out as he stared with bright eyes at the old man’s face. The man’s head was fully covered in dust, except his clear wise eyes. Reli raised his tiny hands and clumsily wiped his grandpa’s face clean.

“You were great today, Reli. My child is the toughest boy in the whole world. Hahah.”

Seeing the tired smile on Reli’s face, the old man glance grew soft and he let his little boy lie comfortably on his lap. After placing the child’s hands back on its own tummy, the old man clapped gently on its small shoulder and whispered:

“It’s all over for now. Let’s take a rest and sleep for a while.”

His grandpa’s soft voice made Reli feel safe. It only took a few seconds before he fell into a deep sleep.

The first light of dawn slowly found its way through the dark sky, bringing a little warmth to the quiet forest. The old man leaned his back on the tree trunk with his eyes slowly closing. He, too, felt sleepy. His shadow blended into the one of the huge tree and united with that of the forest. A peaceful atmosphere emerged silently.

Just as silently like a faint silhouette behind them.